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Evo Morales Demands Respect for Mother Earth

Prensa Latina

Bolivian President Evo Morales called today at the Climate Change Summit for creating incentives to respect Mother Earth and exhorted the developed countries to live up to their promises.

Morales, who spoke in the name of the Group of 77 plus China (G-77), where Bolivia is the pro tempore president, highlighted the need for equitable laws for sustainable development, national survival, and the protection and wellbeing of Mother Earth.

According to Morales, “the excessive focus on profits neither respects Mother Earth, nor takes human needs into account. The continuation of this unequal system only leads to greater inequalities.”

At the same time, he recalled that the adverse effects of climate change are devastating societies in the developing world, threatening the right to development and survival of entire peoples and nations.

Morales also called for structural solutions to climate change, along with immediate measures to deal with the impact of these extreme weather events.

According to the Bolivian leader, everyone must contribute to solutions for climate change.

“According to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities, we emphasize that the contributions must be made in a balanced context and must include the transfer of technologies and the creation of capacities,” he added.

For Morales, the twenty-first century is the moment for the countries and people in the southern hemisphere to develop their economies to meet their human needs in a sustainable way, in harmony with Mother Earth, nature, and the ecosystems that provide our home.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that history has assigned the developed countries the responsibility of taking the initiative in dealing with this challenge, in accordance with the principles and climate change accord reached at the United Nations.

“There is an urgent need to close the gap of ambition. We express our concern over the lack of compliance with the commitments made by the developed countries,” he said.

Morales urged wealthy nations to sign the Kyoto Protocol, which “continues to be an important instrument for closing the gap between emissions and dealing with climate change.”

“We emphasize our deep disappointment and concern about the developed countries that remain outside the Kyoto Protocol, who have withdrawn from the pact or have not yet signed on,” he said, adding that the lack of confirmation for the accord raises serious doubts about the credibility of the recalcitrant countries and their sincerity in the fight against climate change.

He also maintained that the G-77 would fully implement the decisions reached in Doha; an essential move for the Kyoto Protocol to continue serving as a cornerstone for approved standards, and a concrete reflection of its principles.

The Bolivian president recalled that “the extent to which the developing countries are able to meet the commitments established in the United Nations agreement on climate change will depend on what the developed countries do by virtue of their financial resources and technology transfers.”

This would have a profound impact on economic and social development as well as in the eradication of poverty in the developing world, he emphasized.